TKO is teaming up with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to create a new boxing league.
During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that WWE President Nick Khan, who also serves on the TKO Board of Directors, will be involved in the initiative.
The boxing league will reportedly be led by UFC President Dana White and Turki Alakshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.
Meltzer commented, “Nick Khan is supposed to be a major part of that as well. A lot of the rival promoters had a meeting in Las Vegas about how they’re going to combat this. Almost sounded like the famous meetings that the Einhorn’s arranged when Vince started his expansion…and they all got together, all the rival promoters got together and ‘We’re going to put a united front against him,’ which didn’t last very long at all, of course. But now the boxing promoters know they’ve got a real threat. And in their minds, it’s Nick Khan, Dana White, and Turki Alakshikh as the three people running this new boxing venture.”

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February 7, 2025
TKO and Saudi Arabia Launch New Boxing League Led by Nick Khan, Dana White, and Turki Alakshikh
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Labels: Boxing, Dana White, Nick Khan, TKO Group Holdings
January 29, 2025
Paul Levesque To Headline WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025
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Labels: Levesque Family News, Nick Khan, Paul Levesque Era, Shawn Michaels, Stephanie McMahon, The Undertaker, TKO Group Holdings, Triple H, Wrestling History, Wrestling News, WWE, WWE Hall of Fame
January 16, 2025
WWE & TNA Wrestling announce multi-year partnership
WWE part of TKO Group Holdings and TNA Wrestling, one of the world’s top wrestling brands and a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, today announced a multi-year partnership aimed at creating unprecedented crossover opportunities within WWE and TNA programming for NXT Superstars and TNA Wrestling Stars.
The agreement will enable talent to garner additional exposure across key WWE and TNA programming, including weekly flagship shows such as NXT – which airs live on The CW – and TNA iMPACT!, select WWE Premium Live Events and TNA pay-per-views, in turn bolstering their in-ring development with exposure to world-class talent and coaching.
“This historic relationship demonstrates that collaboration and competition do not have to be mutually exclusive,” said Ariel Shnerer, Senior Vice President of Content & Distribution for TNA Wrestling and Anthem Sports & Entertainment. “Our partnership allows the TNA Wrestling brand and its incredible athletes to reach a significantly wider audience, while giving WWE and NXT stars an opportunity to cross the line and gain valuable experience, as they join forces with one of the most talented rosters in professional wrestling today. The response to our collaboration over the past year has been tremendous and both companies have benefited, but the fans have reaped the greatest rewards from this talent crossover and working relationship.”
“We look forward to growing and evolving our partnership with TNA Wrestling and its outstanding group of athletes by creating new opportunities to further the development of our talent and to elevate the viewer experience at home,” said WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels.
Former TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry frequently appeared on NXT programming in 2024, highlighted by an NXT Championship match featuring Hendry and Ethan Page at No Mercy, and an NXT Women’s Championship match featuring Grace and Roxanne Perez at Battleground.
Many NXT Superstars also crossed the line into TNA Wrestling, including Wes Lee’s short-lived reunion with The Rascalz, Charlie Dempsey and the No Quarter Catch Crew, Riley Osbourne, Dante Chen, Gallus, Arianna Grace, Tatum Paxley, Izzi Dame, Wendy Choo, Brinley Reece and more.
TNA iMPACT! airs on AXS TV and TNA+ in the U.S., in addition to being distributed internationally on TNA+ and other leading broadcast platforms, including Sportsnet 360 across Canada.
In November 2023, WWE and The CW announced a five-year agreement to bring NXT to broadcast television for the first time in its 13-year history.
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Labels: Shawn Michaels, TKO Group Holdings, TNA, TNA IMPACT, Wrestling News, WWE, WWE NXT
January 9, 2025
WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ Netflix Debut Draws 4.9 Million Views
The first episode of WWE‘s “Monday Night Raw” to stream live on Netflix pulled in 4.9 million views globally.
That is according to Live+1 data provided by Netflix, with a view defined as total hours viewed for the program divided by its runtime. The 4.9 million views came from countries like the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Latin America, but did not include 92 countries/territories where Netflix doesn’t yet distribute WWE, including France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.
The Netflix debut of “Raw” was also viewed by 2.6 million households in the U.S. according to VideoAmp, compared to the 1.2 million households “Raw” was averaging in 2024.
It is difficult to make a direct comparison between the Netflix and USA Network viewership for “Raw,” as linear channels measure their viewership differently than Netflix does. For the sake of some comparison, however, the final episode of “Raw” on USA Network averaged approximately 1.596 million viewers across its two-hour runtime, according to Nielsen Live + Same Day data. From the beginning of October through the end of December, “Raw” averaged approximately 1.65 million viewers per week on USA Network.
During the first “Raw” on Netflix, Roman Reigns defeated his cousin Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the sacred ula fala and the title of Tribal Chief. Later, Rhea Ripley defeated Liv Morgan to regain the women’s world championship title, Jey Uso defeated Drew McIntyre, and CM Punk won a brutal main event match against Seth Rollins.
The night also saw John Cena kick off his 2025 retirement tour, while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson opened the show and later appeared alongside Reigns. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made an appearance toward the end of the show, but was met with a barrage of boos from the crowd.
This is the latest in push by Netflix into live streaming. Previously, the streamer aired a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that drew an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108 million live viewers globally. The event peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, with 38 million concurrent streams in the US. Over Christmas, the NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million viewers on Netflix, while the earlier Chiefs-Steelers bout brought in 24.1 million viewers.
source: variety.com
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Kaliqo~
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Labels: Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, Paul Levesque Era, Raw, Television Ratings, TKO Group Holdings, Triple H, Wrestling News, WWE, WWE Netflix, WWE Network
December 24, 2024
Why Kevin Nash Says Triple H Is A Better Fit To Run WWE Than The Rock
Recently, former WWE creative writer Vince Russo floated a conspiracy theory suggesting TKO board director Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson might replace Paul "Triple H" Levesque with his longtime collaborator Brian Gewirtz. While there doesn't appear to be any truth to this, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash addressed the possibility on "Kliq This." Nash felt fairly confident that Levesque wouldn't be going anywhere, and used a recent social media clip as proof he's better suited to run WWE's creative than perhaps anyone else.
"They brought back [Shinsuke Nakamura] and they were working out his entrance," Nash began. "It was on Instagram. And they showed Paul walking the production people through what he wanted. 'I want it lit not so much on the top, but underneath.' And he walked them through this entire process of what he saw personally for this guy's entrance. And I was just like...that's what makes the difference between good and great: Detail. And he's dialing this f***in' in, and I'm saying to myself, Dwayne doesn't have the time for that."
Nash compared the respect WWE talent has for Levesque to the respect players had for legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, noting that both inspire their "players" to perform at their best.
"It's the Triple H era because...people will run through f***ing walls for him," Nash said. "He gets it. And that's the intangible that Brian Gewirtz or Dwayne, they're not going to have."
At one time, Brian Gewirtz was high on the food chain within WWE's creative team, and was known as the architect behind many of The Rock's promos. Having formed a strong working relationship together, The Rock eventually lured Gewirtz away from wrestling to his Seven Bucks Productions entertainment company.
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November 20, 2024
Ari Emanuel Praises Triple H & Dana White’s Work With WWE & UFC, Talks Netflix/WWE Deal
Ari Emanuel is very happy with how Triple H and Dana White are doing with WWE and the UFC, respectively. Emanuel is the CEO of TKO, the parent company of both WWE and UFC, and he recently spoke on Bloomberg about the success of both companies, WWE’s deal with Netflix and more. You can see highlights below (courtesy of Wrestling Inc):
On the performance of the two companies: “I don’t think it’s Fight Club. I remember watching WWE — WWF, actually — when I was young. Paul [Levesque] has done an amazing job with the WWE, with ‘Raw,’ ‘SmackDown,’ PLEs, ‘NXT.’ And UFC is a sport that Dana [White] created over 30 years ago. Didn’t exist. [It was] His vision. You don’t have to explain the rules of the UFC to anybody in the world.”
On Triple H taking over WWE from Vince McMahon: “When you have guys that are visionaries, take whatever comes through on the cases with Vince McMahon who is no longer with the company, and now Paul, Triple H, is running that. They understand, kind of, the heartbeat. The skills I’ve maybe learned in the talent agency side have helped, but now we’re partners. So, now, that’s how I look at it. You just have to let the talent — and those guys are talent — do what they do and support them with all that they need.”
On WWE’s deal with Netflix: “You can see that Netflix wants to be in the live sports business. I think they [WWE] will perform very well for them. There’s a huge chunk of the audience that are WWE fans that are not right now, based on our research, Netflix subscribers. If they capture a portion of those, it’s a huge win for them and a huge win for us.”
On the potential of UFC moving to Netflix: “Listen, ESPN has been an incredible partner. First quarter we’ll see, that’s where we can start. We would love to be back in ESPN. They have been incredible to us.”
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Labels: Ari Emanuel, Dana White, Endeavor, TKO Group Holdings, Triple H, UFC, WWE, WWE Netflix, WWE Network
November 7, 2024
Mark Shapiro Praises Triple H, Nick Khan As ‘Experts In Storytelling’
TKO President Mark Shapiro praised WWE executives Triple H, Nick Khan as among those in the company who are “experts in storytelling” and creating rivalries. Shapiro spoke on the TKO Q3 financial results call and was asked why there haven’t been a lot of challenges with talent leaving the WWE and UFC. He answered by praising the executives in both companies at creating stars and memorable rivalries, noting talent wants to be there.
“The reason why you don’t hear about it a lot, and we say this in all modesty, you don’t hear about it because of the work of Paul Levesque, Dana White, Nick Khan, and Lawrence Epstein,” Shapiro said (per Fightful). “That’s just the fact of the matter. They are experts in storytelling. Period. They are experts in creating rivalries, period. They are experts, like David Stern was, in building and marketing stars. When your platforms, your businesses, your leagues become known for that, talent aspires to be with those leagues. We haven’t had those challenges as of late because, frankly, the talent wants to get to the UFC and WWE level.”
He continued, “We don’t take that for granted. We’re not arrogant about it, and we want to incentivize all of our fighters at UFC and all of our superstars at WWE to put out their best every day and aim for the top of the mountain. We’re prudent about it and we want to keep those costs under control. As long as we do our job of continuing with that storytelling, continuing to build our fanbase, continuing to surround ourselves with the right partners, then talent will gravitate towards the UFC and WWE.”
TKO announced their financial results on Wednesday with revenue of $681.2 million, a net income of $57.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA 1 of $310.0 million.
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August 9, 2024
TKO Details Repayments By Vince McMahon For Misallocated Funds
Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon resigned from WWE and parent company TKO in January following the filing of a sex trafficking lawsuit against him by Janel Grant, 18 months after his initial resignation in 2022 following reports he had misappropriated company funds to pay NDAs to Grant and others. McMahon has since been reimbursing the money waylaid to WWE — which merged with UFC under TKO in September 2023 — and the company's latest quarterly report indicates he has continued to do so since his resignation.
"Mr. McMahon has agreed to make future payments to certain counterparties personally," the report reads. "As of December 31, 2023, total liabilities of $1.5 million are ... owed by Mr. McMahon to certain counterparties."
It's further noted that as of June 30, 2024, McMahon had made the payments to the relevant parties in full and directly.
"In connection with and/or arising from the investigation conducted by a Special Committee of the former WWE board of directors, Mr. McMahon has agreed to reimburse the Company for additional costs incurred in connection with and/or arising from the same matters," the section concludes.
McMahon returned to WWE after his initial resignation in January 2023, announcing his intent to secure a sale of the company. That turn of events led to the formation of TKO, with which McMahon continued as Executive Chairman. Grant's lawsuit in January this year alleged gross sexual misconduct and trafficking at the hands of McMahon during her time with the company, which he has continuously and vehemently denied, and saw him resign from his roles with TKO and WWE.
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July 8, 2024
WWE touts historic numbers for Money in the Bank premium live event
WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, today announced that Money In The Bank 2024, which featured the surprise announcement of WWE Superstar John Cena's retirement in 2025, became the highest-grossing WWE arena event in Canada in company history.
In addition to the record-setting weekend, WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain has amassed more than 2.3 million total viewers since its July 3 debut on WWE’s YouTube channel. The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of the chaotic build to WrestleMania XL and features interviews with Dwayne Johnson, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque.
"Weekends that bring visitors en masse to our host cities play an important part in our planning process,” said WWE President Nick Khan. “The results are a testament to our Superstars, our creative team led by Paul Levesque, our media & production team led by Lee Fitting and, most importantly, our fans who both attended and created our massive viewership."
Money In The Bank highlights include:
GATE: Money In The Bank 2024 became the highest-grossing WWE arena event in Canada in company history.
ATTENDANCE: More than 45,000 fans attended the four events running Thursday to Sunday, including the debut of WWE Superstar Sami Zayn’s comedy show, Sami Zayn & Friends Do Toronto, in addition to Friday Night SmackDown, Money In The Bank and NXT Heatwave at Scotiabank Arena.
VIEWERSHIP: Saturday’s show became the most-watched Money In The Bank of all time, with viewership up 46 percent from last year’s record-setting number.
JOHN CENA: WWE Superstar John Cena made international news with his announcement that he will retire from in-ring action following The Last Time Is Now John Cena Farewell Tour in 2025.
MERCHANDISE: In partnership with Fanatics, merchandise sales were up from last year’s record-setting number, with the Canadian-themed Money In The Bank briefcase grabbing the top spot as the best-selling item of the weekend.
FAN HOSPITALITY: Money In The Bank weekend set a revenue record for fan experience packages offered by exclusive partner On Location.
SOCIAL: Cena’s retirement announcement amassed more than 65 million social media views in the first 24 hours, making it WWE’s most-viewed social segment since WrestleMania XL.
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8:09 PM
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Labels: Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Nick Khan, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, The Rock, TKO Group Holdings, Triple H, WWE
May 3, 2024
John Laurinaitis Joins Vince McMahon Arbitration Effort, Denies Janel Grant Accusations
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April 27, 2024
Vince McMahon Sells Final TKO Shares for $776M+ to End WWE Ties After 50+ Years
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Labels: Nick Khan, TKO Group Holdings, Vince McMahon, Wrestling History, Wrestling News, WWE
April 22, 2024
UFC Apex to host first WWE event on June 9
WWE, in partnership with the UFC, has announced that NXT Battleground will take place at the UFC Apex on Sunday, June 9 in Las Vegas.
This will mark the first-ever WWE event that will be hosted at the 130,000-square foot production facility, home of UFC Fight Night events, Dana White's Contender Series and more.
"We are always exploring new frontiers to showcase NXT and we are excited to bring Battleground to this world-class production facility in partnership with UFC," said WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels in a statement to ESPN.
Last September, UFC's parent company Endeavor and the WWE announced the closing of a merger between the mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions to create TKO. To date, there has been some crossover between the two brands, but this will be the most significant where a UFC venue will host a WWE event.
NXT Battleground was originally penciled in for May 26 at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia but will now relocate to Las Vegas, the home of the UFC. The reasons behind the move were not made readily available. Still, the original date was during Memorial Day weekend and running up against rival promotion AEW's Double or Nothing pay-per-view event.
NXT Battleground is set to feature some of the biggest NXT superstars including NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov, NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez NXT North American Champion Oba Femi, NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer, Trick Williams, Carmelo Hayes, Lyra Valkyria and more.
However, the talent featured at Battleground could change as the WWE Draft will take place starting on WWE SmackDown on April 26 and NXT talent could be moved to either Raw or SmackDown.
The UFC Apex typically hosts smaller crowds of under 500 people for Dana White's Contender Series and UFC Fight Night events. It is unknown how many tickets will be made available for Battleground but a 2022 article by the Las Vegas Review Journal cited that the UFC applied with the Clark County Zoning Commission to add the ability to host up to 1,000 people for events along with food and alcohol service, ticket sales and a souvenir shop.
source: espn.com
April 17, 2024
Vince McMahon's life after WWE: Kittens, vacations and staying in touch with Trump
As he faces a mountain of legal woes, former WWE leader Vince McMahon is traveling, eating out and keeping in touch with friends and associates — including former President Donald Trump.
McMahon resigned as executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment’s parent company almost three months ago after a former employee, Janel Grant, accused him in a bombshell lawsuit of sexual abuse and trafficking. He denied the allegations. McMahon, 78, is also facing a federal criminal investigation, although he hasn’t been charged.
NBC News and CNBC talked to 11 people familiar with McMahon and WWE about how he’s been spending his time — and how the global brand he built over more than four decades is moving on without him. These people, including close personal associates and company insiders, declined to be named, citing ongoing legal cases and the confidential nature of internal corporate communications.
Multiple WWE insiders said he hasn’t had any contact with company leaders and figureheads since he resigned. Mark Shapiro, the operating chief of WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings, said in March that McMahon “doesn’t work for the company, doesn’t come into the office, and he’s not coming back to the company.”
That also means McMahon hasn’t talked to his son-in-law, WWE creative chief and former superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque, or daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, regarding company matters, sources said. While she introduced WWE’s WrestleMania event earlier this month, McMahon-Levesque, who worked beside her father for more than 20 years and played roles in storylines, currently has no involvement with the company, according to people familiar with the matter. Levesque and McMahon-Levesque declined to comment through a spokesperson, as did a WWE representative.
McMahon is nonetheless indelibly linked with the wrestling outfit, which he bought from his father 42 years ago. Still, he seems to have moved on, according to multiple sources. McMahon has kept up his other routines, and it’s as if he’s unfazed by his legal fights, two sources said...More?
source: nbcnews.com
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April 14, 2024
Vince McMahon Puts Remaining TKO Stock Up For Sale in Major Financial Move
Vince McMahon is actively offloading his holdings in TKO stock, placing all his remaining shares on the market. According to a recent SEC filing, McMahon, alongside stockholders Nick Khan and Steven Koonin, listed their shares for sale but have not yet completed any transactions. McMahon has made available 8,021,405 shares, his entire remaining stake, following a sale earlier in the week of nearly 3.5 million shares, which brought him over $300 million.
Listing shares for sale does not guarantee their immediate purchase, but it does open the possibility for McMahon to potentially earn more. If sold at current market prices, his 8 million-plus shares could yield over $786 million. Amidst ongoing legal issues, McMahon has been converting his stock into cash rapidly, amassing approximately $1.5 billion from these sales. This aggressive divestment suggests that McMahon is distancing himself significantly from TKO and WWE, likely marking a permanent departure.
April 10, 2024
Triple H: I Told Ari Emanuel When TKO Formed, ‘I Just Want To Have Fun. If It’s Fun, I’ll Stay’
Triple H just wanted to have fun.
WWE and UFC officially merged in September 2023 to form TKO under the Endeavor banner. Triple H was already appointed as the Chief Content Officer, but Vince McMahon would often make remote changes throughout 2023.
With the merger, Vince started to become less involved until he eventually resigned as TKO Executive Chairman in January following a lawsuit against him where he was accused of sex trafficking and sexual assault.
With Vince fully out of the picture, Triple H has ushered in a new era.
"I’m loving what I do, that’s the biggest thing for me. When TKO went down and Ari Emanuel talked to me about this, I said, ‘I just want to have fun. If it’s fun, I stay. If It’s not, we’ll figure out something else.’ We’re having fun. I want everyone to have fun. When the signature was playing, I picked up the headset and said, ‘Biggest thing we want to remember tonight, everybody, have fun. Enjoy this.’ If this is fun, everybody loves it. If we have fun making it, you’re going to enjoy watching it. That’s what I believe," Triple H said at the WrestleMania XL press conference.
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8:12 PM
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Labels: Ari Emanuel, Paul Levesque Era, TKO Group Holdings, Triple H, Vince McMahon, WWE
April 9, 2024
WrestleMania 40 Shatters Multiple WWE Records to Become Highest-Grossing Event in Company History
WrestleMania 40 broke multiple WWE records and has become the most successful live event in the company’s history.
WrestleMania 40 took place over two nights at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. Per WWE, the gate for the event was up 78% compared to the previous record set during WrestleMania 39, with 145,298 in attendance across both nights this year. The company also says viewership was up 41% versus last year, while merchandise sales — in partnership with Fanatics — was up more than 20% over last year.
But the live events on Saturday and Sunday nights are just one part of the story. WWE set up a massive presence in Philadelphia from Thursday-Monday. The company, along with Fanatics Events, hosted the WWE World experience at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where fans could pay to get up close with authentic WWE memorabilia from their archives as well as take part in immersive experiences. This was coupled with the WWE Superstore, which featured a wide range of branded merchandise from apparel to toys and beyond.
The April 5 episode of “SmackDown” originated from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, drawing the largest gate in “SmackDown” history. Likewise, the April 8 episode of “Monday Night Raw” drew the largest gate in “Raw” history. WWE also put on the NXT live event “Stand and Deliver” on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center, which drew a record breaking crowd of 16,545, the most ever for an NXT event.
On social media, over 660 million views were generated across WWE’s social channels, while the WWE YouTube channel had its biggest day ever on Sunday with 67 million views in 24 hours.
WrestleMania 40 featured a number of smash hit matches, most notably the WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes on Night 2. On Night 1, the two squared off with the aid of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Seth Rollins, respectively, in a tag team match that marked Johnson’s first match for WWE since 2016.
source: variety.com
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2:36 PM
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April 7, 2024
The Rock comments on the job Triple H has done and how this WrestleMania felt knowing Vince McMahon is no longer involved
“I think that Triple H has done a tremendous job as our chief creative officer, I think that’s his title, he has a few, earned every single one of them. I like ushering in new things and new times and new eras and it feels like in our world here, professional wrestling, it is a new era that we’re ushering in. I talked to Triple H earlier as we were kicking off and kicking off the show tonight and without giving detail on what we talked about, it was a special night for him. This was the beginning of something and marking the beginning of something new for him, under his creative, and I think from a company standpoint, this is an exciting time for the company, for WWE, an exciting time for TKO. You felt the convergence towards the end of the year when the acquisition happened, you felt the convergence in the first quarter of the year as I was fortunate enough to come back and kind of traversed our way to what these storylines could look like, so it’s an exciting time and I think we capped off day one of WrestleMania that we had stated was gonna be the biggest of all time, which is really saying a lot given how many great WrestleManias there has been in the past, so I thought collectively as a company and a team, [it was] a really great show tonight.”
credit 411mania.com for the transcription
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Labels: Paul Levesque Era, The Rock, TKO Group Holdings, Triple H, Vince McMahon, WrestleMania, WWE
March 11, 2024
More WWE Executives Revealed As Key Figures In McMahon Sex Trafficking Suit; WWE Responds
More names have been revealed as part of the ongoing sex trafficking lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis WWE, and unnamed corporate officers.
A new report from Tim Marchman, John Pollock, and Brandon Thurston for Front Office Sports has named President Nick Khan and COO Brad Blum as those identified as Corporate Officers No.1 and No. 2 in the suit filed by Janel Grant in January.
Before their naming in the report, Khan and Blum were alleged to have been instrumental to a scheme in which Grant had been employed in a completely undefined role, except for the understanding that she would remain a sexual slave to be used and trafficked by McMahon within WWE. Khan and Blum are not personally accused of sexual wrongdoing but they are rather part of a group that is claimed to have facilitated and covered up exploitation in a way that would make WWE liable under federal anti-trafficking law.
Front Office Sports' report notes that Blum and Khan were identified independently alongside the two other anonymous corporate officers described in the suit by cross-referencing details within the filing with other records like online resumes and corporate filings. A WWE source also reportedly confirmed details within the suit, such as the location of Khan's office. All names were confirmed with Janel Grant's attorney, Ann Callis.
According to the suit, McMahon presented Blum and Khan to Grant as his key fixers. Nick Khan is the current WWE President under TKO's hierarchy following the merger with UFC last year and has been instrumental in the business growth behind the company in recent years.
The report continues to name Stephanie McMahon as Corporate Officer No.3 within the filing, who is mentioned once in an ambiguous context. It's told how Grant had attended meetings with WWE's executive committee, which was noted to be above her pay grade and something she had even inquired to Khan and Blum about regarding appropriateness. The suit alleged Stephanie McMahon had motioned for Grant to sit near her in these meetings. Ms. McMahon is also described as knowing of "other instances of [Vince] McMahon engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct".
Stephanie McMahon notably took a leave of absence in 2022 – three months after Vince McMahon and Janel Grant signed their $3 million NDA – from her role as Chief Brand Officer. A month later, reports emerged on a probe by the WWE board of directors into unauthorized payments involving NDAs with several former female employees and performers made by Vince McMahon, after which he resigned from his roles as CEO and Chairman and Stephanie McMahon became interim CEO and Chair. When Vince McMahon forced his way back onto the board in early 2023, Stephanie McMahon resigned from her role as Co-CEO – held alongside Nick Khan – and has not returned.
Front Office Sports further identified Brian Nurse – former general counsel and head of WWE's legal department – as Corporate Officer No.4. Nurse is described in the suit as offering the legal role to Janel Grant at the behest of Vince McMahon, a revelation allegedly made by McMahon to Ms. Grant before he sexually assaulted her for the first time. Nurse is claimed to have been terminated or asked to resign as one of a number of employees forced to resign or let go if they knew of McMahon's exploits and failed to assist, support, or facilitate them.
In response to the report, a WWE spokesperson told FOS:
“WWE takes Ms. Grant’s allegations very seriously and has no tolerance for any physical abuse or unwanted physical contact. Neither Nick Khan nor Brad Blum, prior to the lawsuit being filed on January 25, 2024, were aware of any allegation by Ms. Grant that she was the victim of abuse or unwanted physical contact; nor does the complaint allege that either had knowledge of such.”
Nick Khan, Brian Blum and Stephanie Mcmahon are not explicitly accused of wrongdoing.
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7:54 PM
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Labels: John Laurinaitis, Nick Khan, Stephanie McMahon, TKO Group Holdings, Vince McMahon, WWE
March 10, 2024
WWE Sells Ring Mat Sponsorship for First Time in ‘Record-Setting’ Pact With Logan Paul’s Prime Sports Drink
On Friday, WWE announced a “record-setting” pact with Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime Hydration beverage brand to become the wrestling entertainment company’s exclusive “official hydration drink partner” and the first partner to ever appear on the center of the WWE ring.
February 15, 2024
UFC, WWE partner on 5-year deal to bring events to Anaheim
The UFC and WWE merged last year into one company, the publicly traded TKO Group owned by Hollywood talent agency Endeavor. And now, some of the effects of that merger are coming to light.